Thread holder



Aug. 4, 1931. c. P. BERGSTROM THREAD HOLDER Filed Jan. 15. 1929 iii) Patented Aug. 4, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MASSACHUSETTS .CARL P. BERGS'IROM OF MILLBURY, IVIASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR TO OROIXIIPTON KNOWLES LOO VIORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF THREAD HOLDER Application filed January 15, 1929. Serial No. 332,690.

This invention relates to a thread holder for weft replenishing looms and 1t 1s the general object of the invention to provide mech' anism for taking up slack in the weft ends extending from reserve bobbins as they await transfer. 7

The'usual form of multicolor weft replenishing mechanism holds the reserve bobbins in vertical parallel stacks with the weft ing in a direction to keep the threads taut.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide a thread guide for a multicolor weft replenishing mechanism formed so as to have portions readily accessible for the inner stacks of magazines having four or more compartments.

lVith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of two forms of my invention is shown,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a four-color weft replenishing mechanism having the preferred form of my invention applied thereto, the lay and shuttlebeing shown in section,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation taken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. '3 is a detailed horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 1 shows amodified form of my in vention and is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the spring arms having sliding engagement with-the weft ends instead of being attached directly thereto.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a lay and a shuttle S in which is located. a

bobbin B. A magazine indicated generally at M is located above the lay when the latter is in front position and has tie rods 11 on which is supported the outside plate 12. The latter has a pair of spaced vertical slots 13 and 11- which are located respectively in front of and behind the center of the magazine. The reserve bobbins are arranged in stacks 15, 16, 17 and 18, the stack 15 being the rearmost and the stack 18 the foremost in the magazine, the stacks 16 and 17 being intermediate with the latter stack in front of stack 16. The matter thus far described is of common construction and may be as set forth in Patent No. 1,030,748.

In carrying my invention into efiect I provide means for controlling the weft ends WV which extend from the various stacks of bobbins. In the preferred form of my invention I employ a rod 20 which projects as shown in Fig. 2 to the right of the plate 12, said rod being secured at its left hand end to the plate 12. The outer or right hand end of the rod is threaded and has mounted thereon a pair of nuts 21. A thread guide 22 extends around a portion of the rod 20 and is held in position by the nuts 21. The thread guide has a pair of spaced upwardly extending notches 23 and has inwardly extending horns 24: which may be curved downwardly as shown in Fig. 1. The thread guide may be formed of wire and have depending extensions 25 which define the outer sides of the notches 23. The forward notch 23 and the corresponding forward horn 24 although slightly out of vertical alignment are in sul stantial alignment with the slot 13 while the rear notch and horn are substantially in ali-ginnent with slot 14 as shown in Fig. 1.

The stand is secured to the upper centra-l portion of the plate 12 and has mounted therein a stud 31 which is held in adjusted angular and longitudinal position in said stand by set screw 32. Mounted on the front portion of said stud are two independent spring arms 33 and 34, each having a coiled portion 35 Wrapped around the forward part of the stud. As shown particularly in Fig. 3 each spring arm terminates in a straight end 36 anchored in a hole 37 in the stud. In a cIi similar manner the rear spring arms 38 and 39 have coiled portions 40 whichterminate i'in straight ends 4:1 to be received by holes 4L2 in the rear part of the stud.

As shown in Fig. Q'the outer end of each spring arm is curved to have an upwardly facing notch43 toywhich the weft ends may V spring arm 33, the ends of the rearmost-bobin the front stacks so that the associated bins in similar manner being attached to the rear spring arm 39 after beingpassed 7 under the rear notch 23. The ends .of the bobbins corresponding to the front inner stack 1? may pass under the front horn 24 and then extend upwardly to be attached to the spring arm 34. In similar mannerthe weft ends from the rear inner stack of bobbins. 16 may be passed. under the rear horn Stan-d then upwardly in engagement with the spring arm 38. 'As shown clearly in 1 the weft ends from the several stacks are kept separate bym-eans of the thread guide and the ends from each stack are stressed by one of the spring arms. It will be seen that the threads froin'the Various stacks are kept separate by the fact that the guiding portions 23 and 24 are'out of vertical alignment as clearly shownin Figs. 1 and '2.

' In operation, when the magazine is filled with reserve bobbins the weft ends from any one stack'will be led under its corresponding portion of the thread guideand. then ex: tended upwardly to be tied to the associated spring arm, the latter being depressed so as to tend to move upwardly through its maxi-mum range of movement; As shown in Fig. 2, for instance,the rear stacks 1 5 and 16- haveth'eir ends attached to the spring arms 39. and '38-, whereas the front pair 17 and 18 have their weft ends attached to the spring arms 34: and In Fig. 2 only three bobbins are shown spring arm 33 will-be in a correspondingly high position. As any-given bobbin moves downwardly tow-ardtransfer position preparatory to being inserted into the shuttle S the weftend thereof will become slack, but this slackness will be takenup :by the resilimee -r the-corresponding spi'in-g arm. The

resilience of the armsmay, desired, be causedby the action of the coil portion. thereof acting tomove the straight portion'of the wire away fromthe thread guide g In the modified form of the. intention shown in 4 all ofit he parts shown in the preferred forinfset forth in Figs. 1,. 2 and 3 are retained, but a slightly different relation exists between the weft ends and the spring arms and also the manner of holding the weft .endsi As shown'insaid Fig.- 4: the weft ends have sliding engagement with the notches 43 and all extend downwardly from said notches to the rod 50similar to rod being attached to the latteras at 51. In this Way the amount of weft which may be taken up by a given movement of the spring arms is approximately double that which can be taken up by the thread guide in the modified form of theinvention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple means for taking up slack in the weft ends of reserve bobbins of weft replenishing mechanisms, saidmeans comprising a plurality of 'springarms which move upwardly. to. keep, the ends attached thereto taut. While Ihave shown the spring arms as being made ofa single piece of spring wire, which due to the resilience of either the arms themselves or their coiled parts tend to assume a raisedposition, yet I do not wish to be limited to this specific construction of spring arm. It will also be seen that the thread guide 22, although formed of a single piece of wire,'has four separate thread guiding portions which are associated with two outwardly projecting extensions for the outside compartments of the magazine and two inwardly projecting extensions for the inner stacks of bobbins. It will further be seen with-reference to the modified form of my invention that by attaching the weft ends to the rod and: permitting the spring arms to have sliding engagement with them, an increased amount of slackness may be taken up.

Having thus. described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in theart. withtion of which is adapted for engagement with c the weft ends, the coils tending to move that portion of the wire which is adapted for engagement with the weft ends substantially vertical at all times away. from the thread uide c 2. In a weft replenlshing mechanism having a stack of reserve bobbins from each of which extends a weft end, a fixed thread guide around which the weft'ends extend, a stud adqustable angularly and -heldn-ormally in .fixed, position with respect to the loom, a wire having a portion thereof coiled to lie around the stud,-sai d wire having; a portion thereof adapted for engagement with the weft ends and being normally stressed by the weft ends, said wire tending because of the action of the coil portion thereof to move that portion of the wire adapted for engagement with the weft ends away from the thread guide to take up slack in the weft ends.

3. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a stack of reserve bobbins from each of which extends a weft end, said mechanism including an outside plate, a stand secured to said plate, a stud capable of assuming a plurality of angular positions with respect to the stand, a resilient wire having a portion thereof coiled around and secured to the stud and having another portion projecting from the stud to have engagement with the weft ends, a thread guide around which the weft ends extend, said coil tending to move the portion of the wire engaged with the weft ends away from the thread guide to tension the weft ends.

f. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a reserve stack of bobbins from each of which extend a weft end, a thread guide held in substantially fixed relation with respect to the mechanism, a fixed member to which the weft ends are attached, and a resilient upwardly moving arm to have engagement with that portion of the weft which extends between the fixed guide and the fixed member, said resilient arm tending to move upwardly from the thread guide and having sliding engagement with the weft ends.

5. In a multicolor weft replenishing mechanism having a plurality of stacks of reserve bobbins which are disposed in parallel vertical relation, the bobbins of each stack having extending therefrom weft ends, means to tension the weft ends, and a thread guide around which the weft ends extend, said thread guide having outwardly extending projections to engage the weft ends from the outer stacks and having inwardly extending projections to engage the weft ends from the inner stacks of bobbins.

6. In a multicolor weft replenishing mechanism having a plurality of stacks of reserve bobbins which are disposed in parallel vertical relation, the bobbins of each stack having extending therefrom weft ends, means to tension the weft ends, a thread guide for the weft ends of the several stacks, said thread guide having a separate portion for the weft ends of each stack, certain of the portions of the thread guide projecting away from the centers of the magazine to have engagement with the threads of certain of the stacks, and other portions of the thread guide projecting toward the center of the magazine to have engagement with the weft ends of other stacks of bobbins.

7. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a stack (f reserve bobbins from each of which extend; a weft end, a stationary guide having a horizontal surface around which all the weft ends extend, and a spring arm mounted on the weft replenishing mechanism and tending to move upwardly at all times away from the horizontal surface of the guide, the weft ends being engaged by said spring arm and held taut thereby as said arm tends to move away from the guide.

8. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a stack of reserve bobbins from each of which extends a weft end, a relatively fixed thread guide having a horizontal surface around which all the weft ends extend, an inherently resilient spring arm mounted in fixed relation with respect to the loom and tending by its resilience to move upwardly at all times away from the guide surface, said spring arm having engagement with the weft ends and cooperating with. the thread guide to take up slack in the weft ends due to the tendency of the spring arm to rise away from said weft thread guide.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

CARL P. BERGSTROMt 

